Method for preparing pre-cooked meat

ABSTRACT

Pre-cooked meats including poultry, seafood and red meats are disclosed which can be prepared by coating a meat with a liquid and dry marinade, cooking the coated meat at a temperature of about 200° F. to 300° F. and freezing the coated meat after the cooking step. The pre-cooked meat of the invention may also comprise additional additives and spices. The invention is directed to pre-cooked meat products, method of preparation and food products containing the pre-cooked meat.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No.08/128,899 of Sep. 29, 1993, U.S. Pat. No. 5,415,883.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates generally to pre-cooked meat products and methodsof producing the same. More specifically, the invention is directed topre-cooked meat products including red meats, seafood and poultry andmethods of low temperature preparation of these products.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Pre-cooked foods are well known. Pre-cooked meats have been developedfor several different types of meat including chicken, beef, and pork.

Kimura, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,363,823, disclose the use of a naturalanti-oxidant derived from herbs, and is directed to the process ofproducing herb derivative anti-oxidants. This reference disclosesincorporating the herb derivative at 0.001 to 0.2 wt-% of a frying oiland frying a food product such as a meat at 100° to 280° C. (212° to536° F.).

Roberts, U.S. Pat. No. 4,927,650, discloses meats which are coated withadditional dry particulate ingredients such as flavorants andthickeners. This reference teaches pre-cooking a divided food such asmeat in a cubed form, coating the pre-cooked meat with additional dryingredients and freezing the coated meat product in a divided state.

Williams et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,940,590, disclose microwaveable foodssuch as a poultry which are marinaded in a liquid solution, tumbled withspices and other coatings, cooked, e.g. baking for 6 to 25 minutes at475° F. in a dry heat oven, followed by freezing to produce amicrowaveable food product. Flavored food products such as orientalteriyaki are also disclosed.

Dry marinades are used as thickeners or batters in most orientalrecipes. Examples of dry marinades are listed as follows:

REFERENTIAL EXAMPLE 1

Deep fried shrimp with vegetables

1 egg

3/4 cup water

2 T. sugar

1 C. flour or cornstarch

1/4 tsp. salt

REFERENTIAL EXAMPLE 2

Shrimp with bean curd

11/2 T. cornstarch

2 T. water

1/2 T. sesame oil

REFERENTIAL EXAMPLE 3

Beef & Broccoli

11/2 tsp. potato or corn starch

1 T. water

Buckholz, Jr., et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,004,618, disclose a marinadedmeat product which is frozen for later reheating or reconstitution. Themeat is coated with a mixture of an inorganic phosphate salt, water andreaction product flavorant. The reaction product flavorant is intendedto "cover" the warmed over flavor of reheated meats. After themarination of meats in this composition, the product is cooked, e.g. at380° F. in an oven or is subjected to microwave radiation to pre-cookthe product before it is blast frozen.

However, there is a need to develop pre-cooked meat products withincreased yields having less moisture loss, better eating products interms of texture, juiciness and taste and higher eating quality afterreconstitution or reheating in a microwave oven, conventional oven,convection oven, wok, griddle or other cooking equipment. This isparticularly true for maintaining the delicate flavor of stir fry meats,seafood and poultry.

Stir fry products are a popular retail item. These "kits" essentiallyconsist of a meat item, selected vegetables and a sauce/flavoringpacket. These three main ingredients may be packaged individually in amodified atmosphere barrier package (MAP) to exclude oxygen fromentering the product. In these kits, the meat component is generallycooked in water first, then diced into bite size pieces which results ina finished product that is very coarse in texture, tough (chewy), dryand crumbly, has an old, oxidized, warmed over flavor, and shows freezerburn (dehydration of cooked meat pieces on the surface). Commercialpre-cooked meat products generally suffer from poor eating quality interms of juiciness, texture and flavor. Another typical method ofprocessing cooked meat items such as stir-fry meat and grilled chickenbreast in the food industry are done by pumping or marinating wholemuscle (i.e. chicken breast, pork loin, roast) with any marinadesolution (>10%), followed by moist heat (water or steam) or dry heat(convection oven or impingement oven) or combination of dry heat andmoist heat then diced. This method of pumping of whole muscle willincrease the yield. However, the pumping of whole muscle (i.e. chickenbreast, pork loin, roast) tends to result in a mushy texture andincrease juice loss during second cooking from reconstitution by theconsumer. This method also does not provide the typical stir-fry flavor.Also, dicing cooked whole muscle meat tend to give uniformed particlesize that does not give the appearance of typical stir-fry meat.Further, these known pre-cooked meat products have a poor appearance andhigh juice loss (low yield). Still another method that can increase theyields is the incorporation of batter and breading. However, batter andbreaded product is not typical of a stir-fry meat. Thus, a substantialneed exists for a pre-cooked stir fry meat product with improved yield,texture and flavor, and methods for providing the same.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with a first aspect of the invention there is provided alow temperature method of preparing a pre-cooked meat including thesteps of coating a meat with a liquid marinade in an initial coating,coating the meat with a dry marinade, including a farinaceous materialand salt, in a second coating to give a coated meat, cooking the coatedmeat at a temperature of about 200° F. to 300° F., preferably about 200°F. to 275° F., and freezing the coated meat after the cooking step. Thepresent invention is also directed to a pre-cooked meat according to themethod of preparation of the invention, and a food product comprising apre-cooked meat.

In accordance with a preferred aspect of the invention there is provideda low temperature preparation of pre-cooked meat including the steps ofcoating a meat in a vacuum tumbler for about 20 to 40 seconds with aliquid marinade, including wine and soy sauce, in an initial coatingstep where the ratio of weight of said wine to soy sauce is betweenabout 1:3 and 1:1, coating the meat in a vacuum tumbler for about 20 to40 seconds with a dry marinade including about 20 to 60% of afarinaceous material and about 40 to 80% of a salt in a second coatingto give a coated meat, frying the coated meat in oil or a vegetable typeof oil at a temperature of about 200° F. to 300° F., preferably about200° F. to 275° F., until the internal temperature of the coated meat isat least about 148° F. for red meats and seafood products and about 160°F. for poultry and immediately freezing the coated meat after the fryingwherein the salt comprises, of the total salt content, about 20 to 90%of an encapsulated salt by weight.

The invention is also directed to a pre-cooked meat product including ameat and a marinade coating wherein the cooked meat product is preparedaccording to the steps including coating a meat with a liquid marinadein an initial coating, coating the meat with a dry marinade, including afarinaceous material and a salt, in a second coating to a give a coatedmeat, cooking the coated meat at a temperature of about 200° F. to 300°F., preferably about 200° F. to 275° F., and freezing the coated meatafter the cooking step.

The invention provides an improved pre-cooked meat product. Thepre-cooked meat product has improved eating quality in terms ofjuiciness, texture and flavor. Additionally, the production yield is atleast about 87% due to the very low juice loss for all theirreconstituting methods. Finally, reconstituting the cooked, frozen stirfry product by use of a microwave, convection or conventional oven, wokor griddle results in a superior product, compared to other stir fryproducts in the marketplace.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The invention is directed to methods of preparation and compositions ofa pre-cooked meat product including a meat and a marinade coatingwherein the pre-cooked meat product is prepared according to the stepsincluding coating a meat with a liquid marinade in an initial coating,coating the meat with a dry marinade, including a farinaceous materialand a salt, in a second coating to give a coated meat, cooking thecoated meat at a temperature at about 200° F. to 300° F. and freezingthe coated meat after the cooking step.

The present invention is also directed to the preparation of a foodproduct comprising the pre-cooked meat of the present invention.Examples of typical food products utilizing the pre-cooked meat of thepresent invention include microwaveable dinners, stir fry, tv dinnersand other packaged refrigerated entrees.

A. Meat

The invention is directed to a pre-cooked meat product. Generally, themeat products of the invention comprise beef, pork, veal, lamb, venison,poultry and seafood. In a preferred aspect, the invention is directed tobeef, pork, shrimp and chicken.

Generally, the size of the meat product is not critical. The meatparticle size can vary from bite size to a whole chicken breast.Preferably bite size meat pieces are utilized in the present invention.More preferably, the meat pieces have a uniform size in order to give auniform degree of cooking and yield. More preferably, the size of thepoultry pieces are about 11/4 to 13/4 inches in length, 3/8 inch to 5/8inch in width and the natural thickness of a chicken breast; for porkand beef the size is preferably about 11/4 inch to 2 inches in length,about 7/8 inch to 11/4 inch in width and about 1/8 to 1/4 in thickness;and individual pieces for shrimp.

B. Liquid Marinade

The composition of the invention comprises a liquid marinade which formsa protective protein layer on the surface of the meat particle andachieves the appropriate flavor profile. The flavor profile can beselected from the group consisting of oriental stir fry, teriyaki, hotpepper mexican flavoring, indonesian curry flavoring, lobster newburger,lemon, italian, and garlic. Preferably, the flavor profile of theinvention is an oriental stir fry. More preferably, the liquid marinadecomprises wine and a soy sauce to give an oriental stir fry flavorprofile.

The following are illustrative of various liquid marinades depending onthe choice of meat and desired flavor. As can be appreciated by thoseskilled in the art and as illustrated in the following recipes(Examples), as optional ingredients, spices may be used in the liquidmarinade, being uniformly dispersed in the liquid mixture, or in the drymarinade, being blended with the farinaceous material and salt, or inboth.

EXAMPLES Liquid Marinade #1 (to be used with chicken)

3/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup dry sherry or white rice wine

2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger root

1 small clove garlic, crushed

Liquid Marinade #2 (to be used with lamb or venison)

1/2 cup dry red wine

1/4 cup vinegar

1/4 cup olive oil

2 or 4 juniper berries

A sprig of parsley

A sprig of thyme

2 bay leaves

1 crushed clove garlic

2 slices onion

A pinch of nutmeg

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon salt

A dash of hot pepper sauce

Liquid Marinade #3 (to be used with venison)

Cover venison with:

1 cup water

Add:

1 cup dry red wine

6 or 8 black peppercorns

1 bay leaf

10 to 12 whole cloves

1 sliced onion

1 small sprig rosemary

Liquid Marinade #4 (to be used with steak)

Combine:

1 cup soy sauce

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon ground ginger

Liquid Marinade #5 (to be used with beef)

Combine:

11/2 cups beer

1/2 cup salad oil

1 clove garlic

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon salt

3 cloves of garlic

Liquid Marinade #6 (to be used with pork)

Combine:

3 tablespoons chili sauce

11/2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 tablespoon grated onion

1/4 teaspoon dry mustard

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon paprika

Liquid Marinade #7 (to be used with chicken)

Combine:

1/4 cup salad oil

1/2 cup dry white wine

1 minced clove garlic

1 finely chopped medium onion

1/2 teaspoon celery salt

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme, tarragon or rosemary

Liquid Marinade #8 (to be used with fish, scallops or shrimp)

Combine:

1/4 cup salad oil

3 crushed cloves garlic

2 teaspoons salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon ginger or paprika

2 tablespoons lemon juice

Liquid Marinade #9 (to be used with fish)

Combine:

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup sherry

1/4 cup oil

1 crushed clove garlic

In a preferred embodiment, the ratio of weight of said wine to soy sauceis between about 1:3 and 1:1. More preferably, the liquid marinadecomprises about 1 to 2% by weight of the pre-cooked meat of a cookingwine and about 1 to 3% by weight soy sauce based on the weight of thefinished product. Most preferably, the liquid marinade comprises about1.5% cooking wine and about 2.5% soy sauce based on the weight of thepre-cooked meat.

Preferably, the liquid marinade is coated onto the meat by use of avacuum tumbler. In the vacuum tumbler, the meat is rotated out of theliquid marinade and allowed to fall through the reduced pressureatmosphere so that the whole surface of the meat is exposed to vacuumbefore reintroduction into the liquid marinade. This takes place overseveral cycles. Importantly, the vacuum tumbler rotation is slow enoughthat the meat is not held by centrifugal force against the outer wall,but is pulled off by gravity as it nears the top of the travel pathwithin the vacuum tumbler. The liquid marinade is absorbed into themeat, leaving the meat surface sticky with myosin protein generatedduring the vacuum tumbling. The liquid marinating process, as taught byU.S. Pat. No. 4,038,426, results in coating the meat with a congealedlayer of viscous protein. Thus, a preferred moist adhesive coating onthe meat is produced so that the dry marinade may be uniformly coatedover the entire meat surface and adsorbed onto the surface layer of themeat.

The vacuum tumbler is only partially filled with liquid marinade toleave an air space there above, which is evacuated to a pressure belowatmospheric pressure when the drum is rotated to marinade a batch of themeat product. The internal vacuum pressure is important because the meatinitially contains air in the capillaries and tissues which can blockthe quick entry of the liquid marinade into the meat. Generally, avacuum pressure of about 20 to 28 inches of Hg is maintained in thevacuum tumbler when the marinading is taking place. More preferably, avacuum pressure of about 26 to 28 inches of Hg is maintained.

In a preferred embodiment, the meat product is tumbled in the vacuumtumbler for about to 10 to 50 seconds. More preferably, the meat productis tumbled in the vacuum tumbler containing the liquid marinade forabout 20 to 40 seconds. Most preferably, the meat is tumbled in thevacuum tumbler containing the liquid marinade for about 30 seconds.These lengths of marinading time are adequate to allow the meat toabsorb the liquid marinade. Longer times will cause the salt from theliquid marinade to extract more protein from the meat giving a stickierproduct which is not desirable.

C. Dry Marinade

The dry marinade of the invention comprises a farinaceous material andsalt. Optional ingredients further comprise sodium phosphates, spices,and natural anti-oxidants. The farinaceous material is used to coat themeat and help retain the moisture in the meat. Generally, thefarinaceous material comprises a starch or flour. Preferably, thefarinaceous material comprises a rice flour.

In a preferred embodiment, the dry marinade comprises about 20 to 60% byweight of the farinaceous material. More preferably, the dry marinadecomprises about 40 to 50% by weight of the farinaceous material.

In a preferred embodiment, the salt comprises an encapsulated salt. Anencapsulated salt gives a salty taste without extracting an extensiveamount of protein from the meat and the encapsulated salt granules helpin separating the pieces of meat. Reducing the stickiness of the meatwill prevent the meat from agglomerating together, and give the meat amore uniform coating.

In a preferred embodiment, the salt comprises about 20 to 90% of anencapsulated salt by weight of the total salt. More preferably, thetotal salt comprises about 50 to 70% of an encapsulated salt by weight.

Alkali metal phosphates such as sodium tripolyphosphate, sodiumhexametaphosphate, sodium pyrophosphate and dipotassium phosphate, canbe used in the dry marinade. These phosphates can be sodium, calcium orpotassium salts. Preferably, the sodium salt is used alone or incombination with other phosphates to achieve the desired effect ofmoisture retention, improved firmness (texture) and reduced purge in thepackaged product.

Preferably the sodium phosphate comprises about 0.3 to 0.5% by weight ofthe finished cooked stir fry product and the natural antioxidant mixcomprises about 0.1 to 0.3% by weight of the cooked product.

Current stir fry products may contain chemical antioxidants like BHA,BHT and propyl gallate. These chemical antioxidants have to be labeledon the cooked stir fry product. A mix manufactured by Skidmore Sales ofCincinnati, Ohio can be used as a natural antioxidant. The mix consistsessentially of extracts of spice, herbs, or leaves (i.e. tea) with asuitable carrier, chelating agent and anti-caking agent.

After the liquid marinade has been coated onto the meat product, in asecond step the meat product is coated with the dry marinade.Preferably, the dry marinade is coated to form a uniform dry marinadecoating on the meat. More preferably, the meat is coated with the drymarinade in a vacuum tumbler for about 20 to 40 seconds. Mostpreferably, the meat product is coated with the dry marinade in a vacuumtumbler for about 30 seconds. The vacuum tumbler is rotated at such arate that the meat is not held against the vacuum tumbler by centrifugalforce. Additionally, a partial vacuum is maintained during the secondcoating step. The operation parameters of the vacuum tumbler are similarto the operation parameters utilized when coating the meat with theliquid marinade. Upon completion of the dry marinade coating step, acoated meat is formed.

The following Table is illustrative of the components and their amountsin both the liquid and dry marinade.

                  TABLE 1                                                         ______________________________________                                        %-Wt of Pre-Cooked Meat Product                                                              (% by weight of product)                                                      Useful Working  Preferred                                      ______________________________________                                        Liquid Marinade      0-8      2-6    4-5                                      Soy Sauce   64.71%                                                            Cooking Wine                                                                              35.29%                                                                        100.00%                                                           Dry Marinade         0-6      2-5    3-4                                      Sodium Phosphate                                                                          10.67%                                                            Encapsulated Salt                                                                          9.33%                                                            Regular Salt                                                                               6.67%                                                            Sugar       13.33%                                                            Garlic Powder                                                                              5.33%                                                            Rice Flour  48.00%                                                            Natural Antioxidant                                                                        6.67%                                                                        100.00%                                                           ______________________________________                                    

D. Cooking

In a further step, the coated meat is cooked to form a cooked meat. Thecooking sufficiently raises the temperature of the cooked meat to makeit safe to eat, seal in the juice and improve the eating qualities e.g.,taste and texture of the meat. Generally, the coated meat is cooked at atemperature of about 200° F. to 300° F. for a sufficient amount of timeto kill any harmful bacteria. More preferably, the coated meat productis cooked at a temperature of about 200° F. to 275° F., most preferablyabout 200° F. to 250° F. In a preferred embodiment, the coated meat iscooked until the internal temperature of the coated meat reaches atleast 148° F. for red meats and seafood products and at least 160° F.for poultry products. Preferably, the coated meat product is cooked at200° F. to 275° F. for about 11/2 to 7 minutes.

Generally, the coated meat is cooked by any heating method such asbaking, frying, microwaving, grilling, steaming, boiling, etc. In apreferred embodiment of the invention, the coated meat product is cookedby frying the coated meat in an oil. More preferably, the oil is avegetable oil. The vegetable oil can be selected from the groupconsisting of soy bean oil, cotton seed oil, palm kernel oil, saffloweroil or corn oil.

E. Freezing

Following the cooking step, the cooked meat is frozen. Preferably, thecooked meat is frozen within one hour after the cooking step. Morepreferably, the cooked meat product is frozen within about 40 to 50minutes after the cooking step.

In a preferred embodiment, the freezing is initiated immediately afterthe cooking step. More preferably, the cooked meat is individually quickfrozen (IQF) immediately after the cooking step to prevent moisture lossfrom the cooked meat due to slow freezing, prevent freezer burn(dehydration of the surface) and keep the individual pieces distinct andseparate from each other. The IQF is preferably accomplished by the useof a CO₂ or ammonia continuous system.

In order to extend the shelf life of the pre-cooked meat, the frozenmeat product is either packed in a polyethylene bag, vacuum packaged orpackaged in a modified atmosphere i.e., to remove oxygen and flush withinert gas (nitrogen/CO₂) and then hermetically sealed. Vacuum or MAPpackaging the frozen meat provides an oxygen and moisture film barrier.

F. Working Examples

The following working examples serve to illustrate, but not limit thecomposition and method of this invention.

    ______________________________________                                        Stir-Fry Chicken                                                                               Working Preferred                                            ______________________________________                                        Chicken            94.7-85.7%                                                                              92.3%                                            Liquid Marinade:                                                              Soy Sauce Liquid   2-4%      2.5%                                             Cooking Wine       1-2%      1.5%                                             Dry Marinade:                                                                 Sodium Tripolyphosphate                                                                          0.3-0.5%  0.4%                                             Salt               0.2-0.5%   0.25%                                           Sugar              0.5-1%    0.5%                                             Garlic Powder      0.1-0.5%  0.2%                                             Antioxidant        0.1-0.3%   0.25%                                           Rice Flour         1-5%      1.8%                                             Encapsulated Salt  0.1-0.5%  0.3%                                             ______________________________________                                    

    ______________________________________                                        Stir-Fry Beef or Pork                                                                          Working  Preferred                                           ______________________________________                                        Beef or Pork       94.55-84.01%                                                                             91%                                             Liquid Marinade:                                                              Soy Sauce Liquid   2-5%       3.5%                                            Cooking Wine       1-2%       1.5%                                            Dry Marinade:                                                                 Sodium Tripolyphosphate                                                                          0.3-0.5%   0.4%                                            Salt               0.2-0.5%    0.25%                                          Sugar              0.5-1%     0.5%                                            Garlic Powder      0.1-0.5%   0.2%                                            Ground Ginger      0.05-0.3%  0.2%                                            Antioxidant        0.1-0.3%    0.25%                                          Black Pepper       0.1-0.4%   0.2%                                            Rice Flour         1-5%       1.8%                                            Encapsulated Salt  0.1-0.5%   0.3%                                            ______________________________________                                    

    ______________________________________                                        Stir-Fry Shrimp or Scallop                                                                     Working  Preferred                                           ______________________________________                                        Shrimp or Scallop  94.6%-84.3%                                                                              92.55%                                          Liquid Marinade:                                                              Soy Sauce Liquid   2-5%       2%                                              Cooking Wine       1-2%       1.5%                                            Dry Marinade:                                                                 Sodium Tripolyphosphate                                                                          0.3-0.5%   0.4%                                            Salt               0.2-0.5%    0.35%                                          Sugar              0.5-1%     0.6%                                            Garlic Powder      0.1-0.5%   0.2%                                            Antioxidant        0.1-0.3%    0.25%                                          White Pepper       0.1-0.4%    0.15%                                          Rice Flour         1-5%       1.8%                                            Encapsulated Salt  0.1%-0.5%  0.3%                                            ______________________________________                                    

Production Yield

Product samples were prepared by following the above Working Examples1-3. The meat was diced to a specified piece size, and then marinatedwith the liquid marinade for 30 seconds at approximately 15 to 20 rpm.Dry marinade was then added to the tumbler and the meat vacuum tumbledfor 30 seconds at approximately 30 rpm. About 30 seconds elapsed betweenthe tumbling of liquid and dry marinades.

The marinaded meat pieces were then fried in an institutional fryer forabout 1 minute 45 seconds to obtain an internal temperature of about148° F. for red meats and seafood, and 162° F. for poultry products. Theoil temperature was maintained at about 240° F. or higher but thetemperature did not exceed 255° F. The temperature of the oil wasmonitored with about 3° to 4° F. of fluctuation. The meat pieces wereagitated to allow even cooking and prevent the meat pieces from stickingto each other while frying.

The production yield was obtained by comparing the weight of the cookedmeat from the weight of the raw meat before frying. Production yieldswere obtained with values of about 87 to 92% yield.

The cooked meat is then immediately IQF by placing the meat pieces ontrays and freezing them overnight. The pre-cooked meat is then packagedand stored in a freezer.

Working Example 4

Beef and pork were diced into 3/16"±1/16"×3/4"±1/4"×11/4"±1/4. Dicedbeef and pork were marinated with soy sauce, cooking wine, spices, andenzymes (aspegillus oryzae). The marinated meats were allowed to rest 1hour to allow the enzymes to tenderize the meat. The meat was then friedin oil at specified temperature. The test was repeated three times foreach temperature. The samples were fried in 200° F., 225° F., 250° F.,300° F., 325° F., 350° F., and 375° F. oil to reach an internaltemperature of 148° F.; therefore, cooking times varied for eachtemperature. Cooked beef and pork were IQF (individual quick frozen)immediately after frying.

Whole shrimp of 70-90 counts were marinated with soy sauce, cookingwine, and spices. Marinated shrimp was immediately fried in oil at theabove specified temperature to reach an internal temperature of 148° F.The test was repeated three times for each temperature.

Yield was calculated as follows: ##EQU1##

The mean and standard deviation were calculated using triplicates fromeach temperature. The triplicate samples for each temperature werecombined and a 200 gram sample of the frozen beef, pork, and shrimp fromeach temperature were covered with plastic wrap and microwaved (700Watts). A panel of 9-11 members evaluated each temperature test foroverall desirability, appearance, color, juiciness, texture, and flavor,using a hedonic scale (Excellent=9, Extremely poor=1).

The mean for the yield and cooking time for the cooked beef is presentedin Table 2, for cooked pork in Table 3, and for cooked shrimp in Table4. The cooking yield decreases as the temperature increases for beef,pork, and shrimp. The samples cooked at lower temperature (lower than300° F.) have higher yields. As expected, cooking yield is affected byhigh temperature cooking, with high temperature cooking causingincreasing juice loss. Sensory data for cooked pork is shown in Table 5.Sensory data for cooked pork shows that the rating of color werefavorable for temperature above 250° F. The ratings for juiciness andtexture seem to decrease as cooking temperature increases. Additionally,the rating for flavor were favorable for all cooking temperature.

Sensory data for cooked beef is shown in Table 6. Sensory data forcooked beef shows that color was rated high with temperature at andabove 225° F., with best rating at temperature between 250°-275° F.Juiciness and texture of the product show a trend of decreased rating astemperature increases, with high rating at temperature below 300° F. Therating for texture tends to declines as cooking temperature increases.

Sensory data for cooked stir-fry shrimp is shown in Table 7. Sensoryattributes for color, juiciness, and texture show a general decline inrating with increasing temperature. The rating for flavor is favorablefor all cooking temperatures.

                  TABLE 2                                                         ______________________________________                                        Cooked Beef                                                                              Time                                                               Temp      Min.         Sec.   Yield %                                         ______________________________________                                        200       5            30     90.84                                           225       4             0     87.89                                           250       2            30     85.54                                           275       2             0     85.54                                           300       1            15     84.46                                           325       0            45     82.68                                           350       0            30     81.61                                           375       0            20     78.94                                           ______________________________________                                    

                  TABLE 3                                                         ______________________________________                                        Cooked Pork                                                                   Temp         Time                                                             (°F.)                                                                            Min.         Sec.   Yield %                                         ______________________________________                                        200       5            30     94.25                                           225       4             0     92.50                                           250       2            30     90.00                                           275       2             0     88.25                                           300       1            15     86.25                                           325       0            45     84.68                                           350       0            30     84.06                                           375       0            20     81.84                                           ______________________________________                                    

                  TABLE 4                                                         ______________________________________                                        Cooked Shrimp                                                                 Temp         Time                                                             (°F.)                                                                            Min.         Sec.   Yield %                                         ______________________________________                                        200       6            30     92.31                                           225       5            30     91.83                                           250       3             0     91.04                                           275       1            30     90.59                                           300       1            15     90.62                                           325       1             0     85.87                                           350       0            50     83.13                                           375       0            35     82.36                                           ______________________________________                                    

                                      TABLE 5                                     __________________________________________________________________________    Sensory Attributes for Cooked Pork                                            Frying                                                                             Overall                                                                  Temp Desirability                                                                        Appearance                                                                           Color                                                                              Juiciness                                                                           Texture                                                                            Flavor                                      __________________________________________________________________________    200  5.81  5.31   5.56 7.13  6.00 5.25                                        225  6.06  5.88   5.63 6.75  6.83 6.38                                        250  6.25  6.38   6.75 6.88  6.50 6.50                                        275  6.63  6.69   6.81 6.69  6.38 6.50                                        300  6.31  6.75   6.63 6.19  6.06 5.75                                        325  6.31  6.00   6.38 6.13  6.13 6.38                                        350  6.19  6.31   6.06 6.25  6.25 6.06                                        375  6.22  6.13   6.38 6.00  6.00 6.38                                        __________________________________________________________________________

                                      TABLE 6                                     __________________________________________________________________________    Sensory Attributes for Cooked Beef                                            Frying                                                                             Overall                                                                  Temp Desirability                                                                        Appearance                                                                           Color                                                                              Juiciness                                                                           Texture                                                                            Flavor                                      __________________________________________________________________________    200  6.88  6.89   6.56 7.33  6.89 6.44                                        225  7.06  6.89   6.67 6.56  6.39 6.78                                        250  6.75  6.78   6.67 6.78  6.94 6.89                                        275  6.50  6.56   6.50 6.39  6.56 6.56                                        300  6.69  6.33   6.28 6.39  6.56 6.94                                        325  6.19  5.50   5.67 6.06  6.22 6.56                                        350  6.31  5.56   5.89 5.78  5.78 5.56                                        375  6.19  5.94   5.72 5.56  6.56 6.17                                        __________________________________________________________________________

                                      TABLE 7                                     __________________________________________________________________________    Sensory Attributes for Cooked Shrimp                                          Frying                                                                             Overall                                                                  Temp Desirability                                                                        Appearance                                                                           Color                                                                              Juiciness                                                                           Texture                                                                            Flavor                                      __________________________________________________________________________    200  7.50  7.63   7.25 7.63  7.19 7.13                                        225  6.63  6.63   6.75 7.13  6.63 6.63                                        250  7.00  6.88   7.25 6.63  6.75 7.00                                        275  6.63  6.88   6.75 6.88  6.75 6.75                                        300  6.47  6.63   6.63 6.88  6.63 6.69                                        325  6.25  6.13   6.50 6.63  6.50 6.13                                        350  6.00  6.00   6.38 6.00  5.75 6.75                                        375  5.63  6.00   6.13 6.00  6.63 6.38                                        __________________________________________________________________________

Working Example 5 Cooked Stir-Fry Chicken Yield And Sensory Study

Fresh chicken was diced into 1/2"×1/4"× natural thickness of chicken.Diced chicken was marinated with soy sauce, cooking wine, and spiceblend. Marinated chicken was immediately fried in oil at a specifiedtemperature. The test was repeated three times for each temperature. Thesamples were fried at 205° F., 225° F., 260° F., 280° F., 305° F., 355°F. oil to reach an internal product temperature of 160° F.; therefore,cooking times vary for each temperature.

Yield was calculated as follows: ##EQU2##

The mean and standard deviation were calculated using triplicates fromeach temperature.

Cooked chicken was IQF immediately after frying. The triplicate samplesfor each temperature were combined. A 500 g sample of frozen chickenfrom each temperature were covered with plastic wrap and microwaved (700W). A panel of seven members evaluated each temperature test for overalldesirability, appearance, color, juiciness, texture, and flavor, using ahedonic scale (Excellent=9, Extremely poor=1).

The mean is presented in Table 8. The cooking yield decreases as thetemperature increases. The sample cooked at lower temperature (lowerthan 280° F.) have higher yields.

                  TABLE 8                                                         ______________________________________                                        Cooking Yield (%) for Stir-Fry Chicken                                                                  Yield %                                             Temperature   Cooking Time                                                                              Mean                                                ______________________________________                                        205           5'          93.72                                               225           3'          91.30                                               260           2'20"       87.40                                               280           2'          85.28                                               305           1'45"       81.39                                               330           1'40"       78.00                                               355           1'20"       77.39                                               ______________________________________                                    

                                      TABLE 9                                     __________________________________________________________________________    Sensory Attributes for Cooked Stir-Fry Chicken                                Frying                                                                             Overall                                                                  Temp Desirability                                                                        Appearance                                                                           Color                                                                              Juiciness                                                                           Texture                                                                            Flavor                                      __________________________________________________________________________    205  7.57  7.29   7.71 7.29  7.14 7.14                                        225  7.14  7.00   7.00 7.29  7.00 7.43                                        260  6.64  6.57   7.17 6.29  6.43 7.00                                        280  6.29  6.71   6.57 5.71  5.43 6.00                                        305  4.93  5.57   5.57 4.57  5.00 6.14                                        330  4.78  4.14   3.67 4.00  4.57 5.71                                        355  4.21  4.00   3.67 3.43  4.14 5.57                                        __________________________________________________________________________

The sensory data is shown in Table 9. Sensory attributes showed adecline in rating as the frying temperature increased. The samplescooked at lower temperature (205° F.-280° F.) were rated more desirablethan samples cooked at higher temperatures on all attributes.

While the invention has been specifically described by reference tovarious embodiments, it will be recognized that various modifications,adaptions and variations, may be made without departing from the spiritand scope of the invention as defined by the following claims:

We claim:
 1. A low temperature method of preparing a pre-cooked meatconsisting essentially of:a. coating a meat with a liquid marinade in aninitial coating; b. coating the meat from a. with a dry marinadeconsisting essentially of:i) a farinaceous material and ii) salt in asecond coating to give a coated meat; c. cooking the coated meat from b.in a single cooking step at a temperature of about 200° F. to 275° F.until the internal temperature of the coated meat is at least about 148°F.; and d. freezing the coated meat after the cooking step.
 2. The lowtemperature method of claim 1 further including vacuum packaging thecoated meat after the freezing step.
 3. The low temperature method ofclaim 1 wherein the liquid marinade consists essentially of:a. a wineand b. a soy saucewherein the weight ratio of said wine to soy sauce isbetween about 1:3 to 1:1.
 4. The low temperature method of claim 1wherein the meat is coated with the liquid marinade in a tumbler or avacuum tumbler.
 5. The low temperature method of claim 4 wherein themeat is coated with the liquid marinade in the tumbler or vacuum tumblerfor about 20 to 40 seconds.
 6. The low temperature method of claim 1wherein the meat is coated with an effective protein extracting amountof the liquid marinade to form a protein layer on the surface of themeat.
 7. The low temperature method of claim 1 wherein the meat iscoated with the dry marinade in a tumbler or a vacuum tumbler.
 8. Thelow temperature method of claim 7 wherein the meat is coated with thedry marinade in the tumbler or vacuum tumbler for about 20 to 40seconds.
 9. The low temperature method of claim 1 wherein the coatedmeat is cooked by frying the coated meat in a vegetable oil.
 10. The lowtemperature method of claim 1 wherein the cooking is performed at atemperature of about 200° to 250° F.
 11. The low temperature method ofclaim 1 wherein the coated meat is individually quick frozen immediatelyafter the cooking.
 12. A low temperature method of preparing apre-cooked meat consisting essentially of:a. coating a meat in a tumbleror a vacuum tumbler for about 20 to 40 seconds with a liquid marinadeconsisting essentially of:i ) wine and ii) a soy saucein an initialcoating step wherein the weight ratio of said wine to said soy sauce isbetween about 1:3 and 1:1; b. coating the meat from a. in a tumbler or avacuum tumbler for about 20 to 40 seconds with a dry marinade consistingessentially of:i) about 20 to 60% of a farinaceous material and ii)about 40 to 80% of a salt in a second coating to give a coated meat,wherein the salt is about 20 to 90% of an encapsulated salt based on thetotal salt content; c. frying the coated meat from b. in a single fryingstep in vegetable oil at a temperature of about 200° F. to 275° F. untilthe internal temperature of the coated meat is at least about 148° F.;and d. immediately freezing the coated meat after the frying.
 13. Thelow temperature method of claim 12 wherein the frying is performed atabout 200° to 250° F.
 14. A low temperature method of preparing apre-cooked poultry product consisting essentially of:a. coating thepoultry in a tumbler or a vacuum tumbler for about 20 to 40 seconds witha liquid marinade consisting essentially of:i. wine and ii. a soysaucein an initial coating step wherein the weight ratio of said wine tosaid soy sauce is between about 1:3 and 1:1; b. coating the poultry froma. in a tumbler or a vacuum tumbler for about 20 to 40 seconds with adry marinade consisting essentially of:i. about 20 to 60% of afarinaceous material; and ii. about 40 to 80% of a salt in a secondcoating to give coated poultry; c. frying the poultry from b. in asingle frying step in a vegetable oil at a temperature of about 205° to280° F. until the internal temperature of the coated poultry is at leastabout 160° F.; and d. immediately freezing the coated poultry productafter frying.